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Hi there.
I'm a swedish citizen and I'm planning on moving my business to Australia (can't get a US Visa at this time ).
So, I have a few questions that I hope some nice aussie soul can help me with (and I would be forever thankful for it).
1.) If I register my company as some sort of LLC (like personal liability), do I still need to pay the corporate tax of 30%?
2.) If I pay the corporate tax of 30%, do I still need to pay an additional income tax if I want to take out money from the business as a salary?
3.) What kind of visa do I need if I want to start a business? I got a stay'n'travel visa a couple of years ago, I was permitted but I never went. Can I try get one again or am I f---ked?
4.) Which city would be the best for business? (Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane?).
I'm almost counting out Melbourne since I want to partly move to Australia for the weather.
Sydney seems like a good place.
5.) Which city has the best nightlife and abundance of hot women?
Question number 1, 2 and 3 are the most important, and the other two are just bonuses that would be great to get some more information on.
1) No. But depending on what you're doing I'd be careful about such a structure. Have you looked at running the business through a trust? Assets are protected and you can have multiple beneficiaries (corporate and individual) to stream income to.
2) Depends. Company tax is levied at 30%. Any dividend you make out of profits (and you pretty much have to pay divvies out of profits) will have franking credits attached. This means that 30% tax has already been levied on the dividend. So to calculate your personal tax liability you need to gross the dividend up and then work out how much tax you would pay on the gross amount.
Example:
Company generates $100k in pre-tax profit. $70k after tax. You distribute this to yourself as a fully franked dividend composed of two parts $70k dividend + $30k in franking credits. At the end of the year your assessable income is $100k (the pre-tax amount). Tax on this would be $26,520 but you have franking credits (ie tax already paid) of $30k. So you will get a refund of $3,480.
You could pay yourself a salary too, which obviously won't have franking credits. Australia has a pretty high tax free threshold, so I guess you could pay yourself a salary to utilise that as a tax shelter or some sort. It all really depends on how profitable you will be.
The structure really depends on what sort of $$$ we are talking.
"Doing Business in Australia" this information comes from the Australian Tax Office website.
You have to have a business visa which WILL take you time to get. Expect up to 9 months. Don't come over on a visitor visa as you will be stopped by Customs/Immigration.
You have not mentioned the type of business, keep in mind that Australia has tough importation laws, especially with food/plant or live animals and has high standards for other things like children toys, vitamins, etc so do your research.
Which city would depend on your type of business, Sydney is larger. Both are expensive to live in. Sydney is located in the state of New South Wales and Melbourne is located in the state of Victoria. There will be state taxes that may also impact on your business so have a look at the different state government websites. I understand that many businesses register in a different state as it is better tax wise for the business. I would research your type of business and see if there is actually a market in those two cities for your business before making a move.
You also have to register your business and get an Australian Business Number, commonly known as an ABN.
Australia has one of the highest costs of living in the world. It is expensive to live here so make sure that you also have a lot of savings to live off for at least 6-9 months to get established, that is not including your business expenses. There are cost of living calculators that will help you with this.
Do your research and if you do come over I wish you the best.
P.S. women are everywhere.
Last edited by back2M; 02-13-2013 at 10:59 PM..
Reason: add
The visa requirement for Australia is very high. You might as well go for the E-1 or E-2 visa in the US. For a business owner visa in Australia, they are asking net assets of A$800,000! If you got that much money, you can also apply for the EB-5 visa in the US for US$500,000.
Aside from the tough visa requirements, Australia is also very expensive. It is also pretty isolated, with high shipment costs. Taxes are also not low. Unless you are in the mining industry or your focus is to sell to the Australian/New Zealand market which is not that large, there are few other reasons to relocate there for business.
BCC, back2M and GoldenTiger (who replied to me in the Canada-thread too, thanks ):
Thank you so much for taking the time to help me. Didn't know that it was that hard to get a visa,
and the reason for thinking of going there was pretty much that the visa would be extremely easy to obtain.
Which was not the case.
Hi there.
I'm a swedish citizen and I'm planning on moving my business to Australia (can't get a US Visa at this time ).
So, I have a few questions that I hope some nice aussie soul can help me with (and I would be forever thankful for it).
1.) If I register my company as some sort of LLC (like personal liability), do I still need to pay the corporate tax of 30%?
2.) If I pay the corporate tax of 30%, do I still need to pay an additional income tax if I want to take out money from the business as a salary?
3.) What kind of visa do I need if I want to start a business? I got a stay'n'travel visa a couple of years ago, I was permitted but I never went. Can I try get one again or am I f---ked?
4.) Which city would be the best for business? (Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane?).
I'm almost counting out Melbourne since I want to partly move to Australia for the weather.
Sydney seems like a good place.
5.) Which city has the best nightlife and abundance of hot women?
Question number 1, 2 and 3 are the most important, and the other two are just bonuses that would be great to get some more information on.
Thanks!
I can't answer the first 3 yet for 4 the best city for business would be any city. Yet the cost of living in Sydney is the most expensive in Australia. Yet Sydney has a great lifestyle. Also you would enjoy Melbourne and Brisbane. Brisbane is a bit more laid back than Sydney and Melbourne.
5, the cities that have the best nightlift is both Sydney and Melbourne. For the city with the best looking women it is Brisbane.
If I could, I'd trade my passport for yours. Talk about a well-organised country! And so beautiful.
I'll have my lawyer talk to yours and we'll settle this a.s.a.p.
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